4 Tips That Will Help You Become A Formidable Squatter From A 'Bro-Squatter'

The squat, by far is one of the greatest power movements in the world of fitness. It's a fundamental movement, built into our genetic structure. Simply put- we were built to do this. Still, it's not everybody's cut. A lot of people avoid squatting right away. For those who look forward to leg day, this piece is for them. From heavy squatter to amateur smith machine squatters, I'll break down everything you need to have in line to execute a near perfect squat.

The Importance Of Lifting Shoes. Avoid Squatting In Running Shoes.

Stability and ankle mobility is very important while performing a squat. A pair of good stable feet that presses against the ground will fire up the kinetic chain. This will add great force to your squat explosiveness. Ankle mobility plays a great role as well, especially, if you are looking to work on the depth of your squat. Restriction in ankle mobility will also cause your heels to rise as you lower your body towards the ground. Hence for starters, proper lifting shoes will do wonders. It would be a bad idea to be squatting with a pair of air or gel based runners. A good lifting shoe will also have a slight elevation on the heel which contributes to a good depth in the squat and also opens up your hip flexors and stabilizes your back effectively.

The Set-Up. Be Precise, Don't Waste Energy

Heavy weights can literally crush you if you are distracted. They need to be handled with great caution and efficiency. Hence the set-up is of prime importance. The rule are simple, find the shortest and the most efficient way to go underneath that bar, pick it off the rack and step back. Often you find amateurs who rush underneath the bar, pick up the weight and then rush backwards to begin the squat. Apart from the fact that they are risking their safety, there is a lot of wastage of energy even before the first rep starts. The term - ‘leakage of energy' is used to describe the action when someone goes underneath the bar in a rush followed by confused, unsynchronized movements. In an effort to do all this, they end up using a lot of energy that fatigues their core and then compromise their set; in terms of the number of reps or with their form and technique.

How do you do a near Perfect Squat?

The perfect squat will take you time to accomplish. You have to work at it and develop the movement over time. The right way would be to first make sure that the height of the bar is taken care of. The bar should be at the level of the collar bone, but not any higher. It is much better to squat for a small fraction to reach for the bar than to raise your heels and lift the bar from an elevated plane. Now, determine the stance at which you want to squat. The width of your grip on the bar plays an important role. The closer the grip, the more compressed and retracted your shoulder blades will be as you try and squeeze your shoulders underneath the bar. The tighter the body, the greater will be the efficiency of the squat. The moment this step is complete, pick the bar off the rack, wait and stabilize yourself for a second or two before you step back to do your squat. One step back from the left foot, followed by one step back with the right foot while you face forward is the most natural thing to do. You can also point your toes out slightly.

Breathing technique

Since our muscles require oxygen, we must make sure that we breathe correctly. With proper breathing, you will actually add a few reps to each set; improve your posture during your exercise, and keep your body safe from injuries thus giving you a better workout. I have detailed biomechanical breathing and Valsalva manoeuvre here.

Racking The Weight

Another common mistake by amateur gym goers is being very careless about racking the bar after the squat. For safety reasons, as mentioned earlier about the optimal height of placing the bar, no one should struggle with doing a calf raise to place the bar on the rack. If the bar is placed at the appropriate height, the simplest and safest way to rack the weight back is to simply walk forward and slam the bar on to the pillars of the rack. Once that is done, it is assured that the bar has to fall into the hooks of the rack after you've let go of the bar.

Helius is one of Mumbai's most promising fitness professionals and part time kettle bell lecturer. His knowledge on nutrition and trainer soft skills management is well recognized. To know more about him CLICK HERE, and mail your queries about fitness to heliusd@hotmail.com.